Shadow's Son by Shirley Meier, S.M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein ...

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long-bodied creature, entangled! . ."
Chevenga broke out laughing, his two gold teeth, no, three, there was another on the lowers, flashing.
"He told youthat ? Did he tell you what happened when we were there?—no, never mind, I don't want
to know. He certainly must trustyour judgment. I should tell you, he didn't lend money tome —Yeoli law
forbids me to own anything—just to my people, agented by me. So when I said he didn't, I spoke truth."
Tricky , Megan thought, nodding.But most wouldn't bother to explain it afterwards . Every now and
then, she'd noticed, he'd fall into an ancient-school Yeoli style of speaking, even in Enchian, almost
ritually formal about matters of truth and choice.
"So what do you want to get into Arko for?" He must have a report from Ikal, she knew, and was
asking for answers he already knew, wanting to hear them drugless.
"My son. He was sold into slavery, and I've recently discovered he is there. I thought I'd have a better
chance of finding him in the forefront rather than the aftermath."
"Aftermath? Of what?" The puzzlement in his eyes seemed utterly genuine.
"The sack of Arko."
Another interruption came then, giving Megan time to worry.Maybe after the business is over, he
trusts me and I'm signed on, I can make friends with him. I'd like to. Koru, Ivahn was right, I did
like him right off. But it's too soon. Careful of your mouth, Megan .
The interruption ended. "I mean to conquer Arko," Chevenga said casually. "I don't mean to sack it."
He doesn't mean to sack Arko, she thought.No embellishments, no explanations, just "I don't mean
to sack it," those big brown eyes shining with sincerity. Alllll right. They tortured him, he won't
sack them. And I'm the queen of Shamballah. Either that, or he's more principled than I have ever
known any one human to be… if he even cancontrol this motley host when they get to the City .
The standing order, apparently, was no looting, all spoils to be divided in an orderly and fair fashion;
she'd heard the tale on the way here, that he'd had people executed for stealing as little as a skin of wine.
And yet that might also mean that the army, having been held back for so long, would feel all the more
that destroying the City Itself was its just reward.
Yet maybe he could finesse it somehow; if he was so decided, he must have a plan. If so, she wouldn't
have to outstrip a plundering, raping and burning army to find Lixand: there'd be margin for error. She
worked her dry mouth, took a sip of scalding-hot tea.
Chevenga called an order in Yeoli to outside, and the interruptions stopped. "Before I go on, tell me, did
the truth-drugging go all right? I've got rules about it: they should have sworn silence beforehand, told you
they'd ask you nothing personal that wasn't relevant, and stuck to that."
Checking up on the underlings. "Yes, they did all that," Megan answered. "May I ask why you're
being so careful? I didn't think you'd have to, the position you're in now."
"To set… an example. Because of this war, my people have discovered truth-drug. You'll see it all
through our courts, in two or three years; I'm trying to demonstrate ways of being careful with its power.
I suffered myself, by the way Arkans use it; when I was there they'd haul me in every month or so for
Yeola-e's military secrets. I always prided myself on keeping things, even details, in my head."